C/C utes are actually worse at a particular level than wagons because youve got that solid cab wall behind the rear seats, thus no chance of lengthening the load area by flipping the seat backs down as you would with a wagon unless you drop the tailgate and hang things out the back, or in the case of timber or pipe etc lay it on top of the cab protection bar if you have one, neither of which are desirable at times. Plus the deck floor is much higher off the ground than a wagon floor.
tygertung,
Jan 27, 11:45pm
Yes, it is shithouse trying to lift anything onto the back of a ute as they are so high up.
My friend has this ancient datsun or nissan ute (not high up 4WD style) which has a bench seat with a tailgate lift which is quite handy. It is diesel though so is pretty slow.
franc123,
Jan 28, 12:21am
I know the one, it would be an old D21.
kazbanz,
Jan 28, 1:46am
The issue isn't with the tow hitch The issue the tubing of the bike rack The leverage on an area the size of a towball can be huge. Coming back from Tauranga half Ironman I was watching the racks moving with just a tribike or two hanging off them jumping around. The other problem is again that bike theft off of rear racks is fairly regular.
s_nz,
Jan 28, 4:42am
Must say I like the ones that go into a hitch receiver better that the towball mount ones.
In my youth we had one of those 4 bike ones which clamped the top tube. Not such a fan. The bikes would touch each other an pick up scratches etc only real way to tie them was to just strap them into a lump of bikes. Had two grub screws and a giant allem key to tighten. Still would sometimes rotate after a drive (not sure if the tow ball or allem key's were slipping). And it did bounce around a lot.
What would you recomend? two on the roof and three on the tray lid? All front wheels removed and locked under the tray hard lid to make less attractive to thief's?
franc123,
Jan 28, 6:40am
A lockable box trailer is a far better solution than any of that stuff, plus has the added benefit that it can be used for other purposes too, nobody would be aware there's bikes in there. These fancy bike racks dont look particularly robust, offer no theft or weather protection and are pricey for what they actually are.
kazbanz,
Jan 28, 6:45am
yup ^^^ --I guess because of who I associate with the stories of bikes being stolen off the back of cars/utes are just too common. Normally stolen and ridden away
matt5209,
Jan 28, 7:02am
But a pain in the arse to drive around town with, try to park etc. For a long drive great, but we take the bikes out all the time and trying to park a vehicle and trailer in Auckland is just not going to happen.
matt5209,
Jan 28, 7:06am
Trying to buy at the moment, Ford Ranger. Bike won't fit lengthways.
matt5209,
Jan 28, 7:07am
Thats exactly the sort of thing I want to use, but it wont work with a lockable hard lid, only a tonneau or a retractable lid.
jeff1234,
Jan 28, 8:16am
We chain ours to headboard, but only works with flat deck as they fit across the deck.
2sheddies,
Jan 28, 8:28am
Everything you say is correct, except the issue is, these station wagons just aren't the trend anymore. Everybody had to have a ute, even if it's only ever used like a car.
franc123,
Jan 28, 8:57am
Lol I would have thought the security aspect would have been a big draw card for you. Having a metre or so of additional rear overhang on an already long vehicle like a Ranger in the form of bike racks isnt going to enhance fitting into parallel parks either I'd have thought.
franc123,
Jan 28, 9:52am
Amen. The other option is of course a flatdeck D21 Datsun with a tail lifter.
franc123,
Jan 28, 10:43am
^^ hell yes those rear seats are plain nasty. .
s_nz,
Jan 28, 10:54am
While everybody is in a pro security, anti ute mood, I would like point out the existence of the ford transit custom DCiV (Double cab in van).
Seats 6, and has a 1.406m high, 1.944m long load bay behind a solid bulkhead. No side windows in the cargo area, bulk head window has bars, and rear window could have bars easily added. Typical mountain bike is about 1.75m long I think (more for a 29er).
I grew up with a ute (nissan D21 2wd doublecab with a high roof canopy) in the household, but have spend a few months using a Hyundai iMax / Starex as a daily driver, and have become quite fond of vans.
As a pro ute counterpoint:
- Utes are on trend, available in 4wd, and in 2wd are a lot cheaper than the van I linked - Security cables are typically good enough for the likes of cafe stops. People with really nice bikes would probiably be fine to take them inside their model room etc if staying overnight. - External bike racks mean wet / muddy bikes don't dirty load area. - Lots of option for external racks (roof, tray lid, tow hitch) - Ranger will fit in a 1.9m clearance city car park (like Auckland downtown carpark). Transit custom needs 2.0m (like Auckland victoria street carpark). - Available in high spec (i.e. LED headlights)
Re wanting a hard lid. Note that most are quickly removable. If you want the hard lid for day to day use, but not going to the bike park, you can typically undo two or four thumbscrews, lift it off and leave it at home. Could be an option if you want to try the padded tailgate route.
matt5209,
Jan 28, 5:55pm
I’ve seen a couple of ute kids that reckon they’re easy to remove, might be the best option.
Thanks to those that gave actual help for my question.
There are other reasons why we need a Ute, nothing to do with style etc, but that’s nothing to do with this.
Good luck to those who are going to tow a trailer around Auckland city and park, or those using a single cab ute with kids.
Cheers
franc123,
Jan 28, 10:16pm
Yeah funny that. A friend of mine just offloaded his Z71 Colorado that he bought brand new a mere 6 months ago, being a runout model it was attractively priced and thus he was able to get all his money back on it after that time. Despite warnings from me about the awful compromises of C/C utes and how unpleasant they are to live with in daily life as well as the fussy and impractical nuisance of modern diesel emission control equipment, he went ahead anyway and regretted it real quick. He found he didnt use the tray very much because when you actually needed to do so it was too small anyway, and difficult to load. It was also difficult for small children to get in and out of the back. Having the option to tow 3T was the only real advantage in having it, which he only towed a heavy load once in that time. Not the easiest thing to park in tight spaces either although rev camera and park assist obviously helped. He replaced it believe it or not with a Honda Odyssey and a 6x4 trailer, couldnt be happier and ended up with a heap of change back in the bank. It's funny how snarky new car dealers and their image conscious customers get when you point out the lack of practicality of these things, as the above example well illustrates.
msigg,
Jan 29, 2:12am
Well it is each to their own, I prefer driving the ranger ute than anything else, it is great, as for a sedan well those days are well and truely gone.So like the shoes you wear? You wear what you want. Happy driving
kazbanz,
Jan 29, 9:07pm
Matt I just had a thought for you. What about going sideways? Racks on the hardtop Again front wheels out. One facing left the next facing right so they "mesh" Sorry to harp on but the wheels out bit does double duty. Increased security and reduces the size of the bikes heaps.
annie17111,
Jan 29, 11:10pm
I've gone in the back seat of my dc dmax many a time and it's fine, even my 6ft son said it's fine. We have a single cab ute for carting the kids bikes around tho
annie17111,
Jan 31, 9:38pm
it's a vehicle, and is comfortable enough. Much prefer being in the back seat of my ute than in hubbies vs commodore.
franc123,
Jan 31, 10:00pm
Fine compared to what, a park bench?
franc123,
Jan 31, 10:05pm
You're mad. There is absolutely no way a thin Thai built seat in the back of a ute compares to a proper seat in the rear of a full size Australian car, especially over any sort of distance or any other car that is properly equipped to transport rear passengers for that matter. On top of that the rude and crude rear suspension just transfers more road shock up into it.
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